dpkg fails reading /v/l/d/available and subsequently the X server fails badly

[zubin]

Binary package hint: update-manager

1) Version - Ubuntu Hardy Heron 8.04
Hardware

AMD Athlon64 2800+
MSI K8MM-V with VIA 8237 on-board Audio
NVIDIA 6600 restricted drivers enabled
2GB RAM
2x40Gb Seagate HDDs
Sony DRU 720A DVD writer
ViewSonic VA2226w
Linksys WUSB54GC WiFi USB dongle

2) Version of update manager, xorg unknown but probably 'latest'
3) Expected - upgrades to 8.10 successfully
4) Happened -
Technically I had a Hardy setup, but it was a result of upgrades from 7.04-> 7.10-> 8.04RC1 -> 8.04.
The update manager downloaded 1331 files and failed while installing the packages.
The terminal output was "Fatal IO error 9 (Bad file descriptor) on X server :0.0." and a pop-up box saying the upgrade had failed and the system was probably unusable.
(More detailed info should be in the attachements.)
The system was unresponsive and a screenshot could not be taken. Once I had logged out, the system would not allow me to log in as xserver kept failing.

Futher -> I failed to rescue the system and have subsequently used the 8.04 live cd to completely reinstall Hardy. I used the backup packages from the earlier install to upgrade to 8.10 and the upgrade worked (except for a warning about evolution-alarm-notify). This time the update only required 1073 packages and only downloaded a further fifty odd over the ones I already had. No proprietary drivers were enabled or any default settings touched at this point!!

[zubin (zubinkavarana)]

If this is not clear -> "I used the backup packages from the earlier install to upgrade to 8.10", before reinstalling I backed up all files in var/cache/apt/archives and used them in the new install of8.04 to upgrade to 8.10.

[zubin (zubinkavarana)]

I have googled this a bit

the same was reported in this bug
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/update-manager/+bug/59064

and this thread
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=734770

perhaps the foll. link may shed some light on the problem?
http://albertomilone.com/wordpress/?p=212

[Michael Vogt (mvo)]

Here is what is causing this error:

Processing triggers for libc6 ...
ldconfig deferred processing now taking place
dpkg: parse error, in file `/var/lib/dpkg/available' near line 21173 package `libgnomekbdui1':
 `Depends' field, reference to `libcairo2': version contains ` '
bgnomekbdui1':
localepurge: checking system for new locale ...
localepurge: processing locale files ...
bgnomekbdui1':
localepurge: processing man pages ...

could you please attach the file /var/lib/dpkg/available of the broken upgrade to this bugreport (or a gziped version of it)?

[zubin (zubinkavarana)]

Sorry Michael, but I had to reinstall the OS to get on with my work and I only saved the files the error report asked me to. For what its worth, I did (obviously) have localepurge installed the first time around (and it asked me to select some locales before the upgrade started), but not when I did the fresh upgrade.

[Jean-Baptiste Lallement (jibel)]

Thanks for following up. I'm closing this report due to your last comment regarding you cannot provide the requested information. Feel free to reopen if you can reproduce it on your reinstalled system. Don't hesitate to submit any new bug.